Sacrilege Sacrifice

By Emma O'dipe

This historical novel is based on the tradition of a remote village in the during the early 19th Century. It focused on the journey of an ordinary woman, Abebe who dared all and gave all for the love of her only child. It was set against the back drop of the tradition of the tribe that all lamed newborn must be sacrificed in the dreaded forest to appease the gods. Fate, events and village busybody, Ireti all worked unknowingly in her favor when she returned against all odds to the village after being sentenced to death at the forest.
Its a tale of love and willpower playing together to force a Kingdom and its culture to standstill.
When the poor palm wine tapper married the village beauty, he thought his life was complete until his wife gave birth to a lame child. This abomination demand the evil boy be sacrificed at the dreaded forest. The stubborn mother refused to let go and she was banished with her son. When she returned from the dreaded forest with arms and legs intact and the son alive, she set the whole village on a course history never before treaded. Events, chances and divine orchestrations worked in her favor as she fought the power that be who are bent on making sure she and her evil son died by hook or crook.
This is a story that take the readers through the mind of an ordinary woman and how her uncompromising stand changed the course of history in her village. It explored the depth of history and web of cultures. From religion to politics, love and hate, gossip and economic power all playing against the destiny of a little boy who does not have power over what has befallen him.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Emma O'dipe
• Release date: Jul 9, 2012
• ISBN: 9781476207360

Emma O'dipe

Educated and trained as an Engineer, grew up in the village amongst the rural populace. Traveled wide, play Basketball. Have a Bachelor degree in Engineering in Nigeria, MBA in England and Management training Courses in USA.

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Sacrilege Sacrifice

By Emma O'dipe

Published by Emma O'dipe at Smashwords

Copyright 2012 Emma O'dipe

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

To my family and friends for the support during the writing.

To almighty God for the inspiration and for making everything beautiful in His time.

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Twitter: @emmaodipe

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Sacrilege Sacrifice

Emma O’dipe

This novel was set in early 19th Century, in the western part of Nigeria.

The Glossary of terms at the end of the book contains the original meaning of some local vocabularies used in the novel

TABLE OF CONTENT

Contents

Prologue before the beginning

Chapter 1 the birth

Chapter 2 the revelation

Chapter 3 the judgment

Chapter 4 the extradition

Chapter 5 the journey

Chapter 6 the day broke

Chapter 7 the food

Chapter 8 the awakening

Chapter 9 the first step

Chapter 10 the arrival

Chapter 11 the revelation

Chapter 12 the decision

Chapter 13 the face off

Chapter 14 the scheme

Chapter 15 the waiting

Epilogue after all

Glossary of Terms

Prologue before the beginning

Abebe was an unfortunate child; born an orphan of both parent, she had been plagued by misfortunes right from her childhood.

Abebe’s mother, Uju, was a strong willed woman. This was in contrast to the norms in those days. Women were weak, silenced and submissive. Their place was in the kitchen. Going by the culture and beliefs of her time, every woman was a shadow of her husband and the extended family.

At the time Uju was three months pregnant, she lost her husband to hot fever.

As a young and pregnant widow, she received a great deal of attention, sympathy and support she needed from her in-laws and the entire villagers. This was however short lived.

Events took dramatic turn two months after her husband’s death. The family had hardly completed the final burial rites of her late husband; while the customary black widows attire was still on her back; when she was mandated by the larger family to marry her late husband’s older brother according to the custom. Uju refused blatantly. Then the rest of her widow life began. Her brother in-law, who had fantasized so much of inheriting the beautiful widow of his late brother promised to make life hell for her, he kept his promise religiously.

Uju’s strong resolve not to marry any of her late husband’s siblings became the beginning of hard times of her widow life. Though there were also numerous outside suitors wanting to step into her late husband’s shoes, she however resolved to live a widow-life, even after the birth of her child.

Uju prayed hard that the child might be a boy so she could name him after her late husband; however, Abebe was born a girl.

Few minutes after her delivery in the hollow and dark inner chamber of Ilapo midwife’s hut, Uju gave up the ghost.

There were as many versions of the story as there were sympathizers after Uju’s death. Many said she died of disappointment when she discovered her baby was not a boy while others said she died while the baby was still coming out of her narrow thighs.

The whole village saw Abebe’s birth as a signal of misfortune to the entire family. Two days passed after her birth, yet not even one person from her father’s kinsmen is ready to accept the custody of new born. At this time, the whole village knew that the grudges against Uju had extended to the new born.

The midwife searched far and wide but could not get a wet mother to feed Abebe and none of the child’s kinsfolk is ready to take responsibility for her. So, she contacted Uju’s only surviving sister who lives in the village of Ulu, a stretch journey away. Aunty Lulu came to Ilapo to take custody of her niece. Amid sorrow and pain, she took the newborn back to Ulu village.

Abebe grew up in Ulu village with her aunt and the aunt’s children.

Abebe’s childhood was lonely. With lack of mother’s love and the accompanying story of evil birth and rejection, Abebe grew up in midst of sorrow and shame.

18 years after:

Lulu, Abebe’s aunt is charcoal black and extremely short for her waist size. What she missed in height is made up for in hip size. Her sheer stampede around the hut is enough jolts whenever the children did something amiss. Aunty Lulu as the villagers fondly called her was so physically challenged in height that opening the wooden window to her hut was impossible until her children grew up. Fortunately, they grew tall, thanks to the inherited genes of her husband.

Ulu village was small in size. The villagers knew each other like the palms of their hand and nothing happens in secret as rumor circulates like wildfire around the village. Their huts were built from clays and muds with thatched palm fronds as the roof. Ruled by supreme monarch the King, whose choice were traditionally rooted within a single family from time immemorial, Ulu villager like its surrounding neighboring villager was content in its own eye.

It has been few days since the last encounter and Aunty Lulu is getting worried about Abebe’s habitual indifferent disposition towards men.

You are eighteen years old, she said worriedly, you are in the flower of your youth, you should accept one of these suitors, asking for your hand in marriage Aunty Lulu encouraged her niece one sunny afternoon, a bit jealous and also impatient.

Aunty, I don’t love any of them. Moreover, the last one is too old for me, she said spouting her mouth as if she was a spoilt child.

You and your big mouth, what do you know about love? Silly girl, her aunt rebuked as she remembered her husband complaining about Abebe earlier in the day.

During the morning, Lulu had just served her husband a late breakfast. She is still here, isn’t she? In our little hut eating our food, the man complained. By now Abebe should be bringing dowry to the family coffer, he added.

She had been having one prospective suitor after another coming in rows without giving any of them a chance. Can you imagine? She blatantly refused to see Chief Enaife in spite of numerous gifts and big dowry the good man brought last night, she said in agreement to her husband.

Aunty Lulu’s husband shook his head in disappointment and raised his two hands in hopelessness. Well, what she lacked in manners and characters were made up for in her beauty. It’s very amazing how nature balance itself. He said to no one in particular. He knew he was treading a path that could lead to argument again. His wife does not seem to like the obvious idea of the orphaned niece being more beautiful than her precious daughters.

It seemed like the Mother Nature makes sure no single woman has it all. My daughters are well behaved and attentive, the aged man said between his tobacco stained teeth, yet they do not have the number and quality of prospective husband that this irate niece of yours commands.

Aunty lulu will fume every time her husband made this kind of comparison between her niece and her daughters. Beauty is not everything, my daughters will get the good husbands they deserve, she will reply, jump to her feet and then walk away from him.

However, Aunty Lulu’s reaction was not spontaneous this late morning. She simply left his presence and spoke over her self-elevated shoulder, it is their father’s height and look they have, isn’t it? She came back shortly after to add, you, their father always say that beauty is from within and not without, isn’t that why I married you? she walked away and came back again, and the girls are your exact replica anyway." She finally added before carting away the half empty food plate on the floor in front of him.

Abebe was an epitome of beauty.

The able-bodied men in Ulu have been asking for her hand in marriage since she was fifteen. She is still young; Aunty Lulu told Chief Enaife when he first approached her to test the ground, to know her thoughts.

She will grow up in my house, he promised. She is already a young adult and all her body structures are well developed, the tall and well-built man tried frantically to convince Lulu.

Aunty Lulu looked at her niece again this late after, anger and jealousy written all over her face. She remembered her promise to Chief Enaife.

Give her time, I promise you as soon as she is more matured, you will be our first consideration Aunty Lulu promised, collecting the tubers of yam and fat cockerel Chief Enaife brought to her. Year after year, Aunty Lulu patronized Chief over other suitors.

Stop collecting things from Enaife, her husband warned many times. What if she eventually refused to marry him? Lulu never listened to her husband’s advice.

Four seasons passed and Abebe had grown into a full woman, blossoming in the prime of her youth. In spite of a rough childhood, the beauty of Uju, her mother was unmasked by her poverty.

Why is she so stubborn? the village High Chief complained. He is one of the stallions of Ulu village whose revered ego has been punctured by Abebe lately.

Don’t be flattered by your good look and prowess with women, Chief; you are the sixth man she is rejecting, her aunt finally told the embattled chief Enaife after an evening meeting session with Abebe. Aunty Lulu did not show any sign of surprise when Chief Enaife came back to tell her of Abebe’s refusal to his proposal.

Chief Enaife ask Lulu, "can you imagine, she even told me to take all the yams and old-layer fowl I brought for prenuptial consent back and blatantly refused to look at the expensive earthen bracelet I brought her.

Biyi, Lulu’s husband was at the corner of the hut during the Chief’s visit. He interjected in their discussion from the corner of the hut where he sat listening to Chief Enaife complain to his wife.

You can have my second daughter, he proposed to Chief. She is a good cook and her mother can tell you how dutiful she is at home.

Yes, enjoined Abebe’s aunt, she is also a virgin.

There was momentary silence in the hut. Chief looked at the desperate couple from one end of the room to the other nodding in deep thought yet saying nothing.

Aunty Lulu sighed, dejectedly and continued, Who knows, this Abebe you want may have willfully dole hers out, she is a very defiant young girl, as you can see. None of us is respectable in her sight anymore, she does what pleases her and that’s why she won’t listen to us.

Chief Enaife was not amused with Lulu’s last statement. He stood up and stormed out of the hut leaving all the goodies he brought to them behind.

Two more seasons later, all Lulu’s three daughters got suitors and were married off according to the tradition of Ulu village, Abebe blatantly refused to settle for any of the men arranged for her.

Aunty Lulu tried all she could to corner Abebe without success. A woman is like the morning flower, aunty Lulu warned Abebe one early morning.

With all her daughters out of the nest, Lulu became very impatient with her niece. Now is your morning time, she narrated to her. With full and firm body, but it will not be like this forever, you should know, she warned. If you refuse all men, now that you are blooming, you will beg for them in evening when you are drooping.

God forbid, Abebe replied, I cannot beg any man. She yawned half asleep. Moreover, I have Okon, she finally muttered between a yawn. Aunty Lulu had woken her up early as advised by her pepper seller friend. Early morning is the best time to talk about important issue like this. Wake her up in the morning and talk sense into her head, she must listen to you, the pepper seller advised Lulu.

Abebe was defiant as usual; she refused to take any of her Aunt’s choice of husband. She had rebuffed all men arranged for her. The son of Igwe is too short she said. When the son of powerful and rich Abu farmer came, his village is too far away, she protested.

It was no surprise to her aunt; who had always rebuked her as a strange young woman; when she came home yesterday evening with a palm wine tapper and declared, this is the man am going to marry.

So, that poor wine tapper, Okon is your choice? Aunty Lulu asked again this morning as she tried frantically for the last time to convince her niece to marry the richer suitors. I knew all along, that you had something to shock us with. She mused to herself in regret.

As the breeze of the morning dew whizzed the sky, seeping through the hole in the room window, her husband came out of his room to join them. He looked fully awaked in spite of the thick early morning dusk hovering in the hut.

I have always known that she is a stubborn and wayward girl she told her husband.

After much persuasion, Abebe was unyielding in her resolve to marry Okon, the Palm wine tapper.

They left her with her fate, as Biyi, her aunt’s husband called it.

During the day time, the news of Abebe’s new found love traveled around the village.

Many of the villagers who had heard so much about Abebe’s history argued, We are not surprised at her actions. It was rumored among the villagers, after-all, what do you expect of a girl that was not properly circumcised according to our culture. She is prone to have wild choice of husband.

In spite of all side comments and evil predictions of her Aunt and all her cousins, Abebe married Okon and was happy to be called the Palm wine tapper’s wife. To everyone’s surprise, they didn’t have any fight since they moved in together except once when they had heated argument on who should be on top during love making. A woman should be given chance to express herself, she pointed out to the neighbors that intervened in their argument.

Everyone in the village wondered how the two of them remained glued to each other without argument and fight. It is a miracle, I mean this marriage of convenience between Abebe and her wine tapper, aunty Lulu told her husband.

Okon loved and cherished his bride before all in Ulu. Even his closest friend, Odofin attested to this. According to the co-wine tapper, the only complain about Abebe is her stubbornness. She hardly listens to anyone, not even her husband, he said. Okon never put his wife down before anyone, especially his friends. One night, he defended his wife during a palm wine drinking session with him. If not for her courage in the face of opposition, she would have abandoned me and married Chief Enaife, he said with pride seeping the first gush of palm wine he extracted out of the virgin palm-tree earlier that morning.

I think the villagers are envious of her beauty and your luck being her husband. The whole of Ulu village wondered at your marriage to her, he told Okon. Abebe is bestowed generously by the goddess of beauty, Odofin smiled to his friend.

All through the hard times of her early marriage, Abebe vowed to keep her home and make her children happy no matter